SpearBlogs

Things I want to tell you about...

Written by: Bob Diaz
Category: SpearBlog 2009
Mon15Jun2009

June 13-14, 2009

Information
Bob Diaz | SpearBlog 2009 | June 15, 2009 | Print

Seas: 1-2 feet
Winds: 5-10 S
Temp: 82 F (drastic thermal clines)
Viz: 25-30 feet
Saturday had us up well before dawn as we decided to go out for dolphin first thing with the promise of extremely calm seas and next to no wind for a good part of the day. We were loaded up and on our way out of the marina just as the sun was rising. With 1-2 foot seas as far as the eye could see, we made excellent time heading out into the blue water. We decided to go out in our own boat because the seas were so calm and we were hoping to run into some schools so we could jump in and shoot a few dolphin instead of just doing the rod-n-reel thing.  On our way out we saw one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. I have seen it on TV, but this is only the second time I have seen it in person. As we headed out past Sombrero Lighthouse we peer out off the starboard side (that's the right for you landlubbers) and we see a sailfish tailing at the surface. We were curious, so we veered over to get closer and when we do, we see not one, but two sailfish side by side sitting at the surface. These looked like two good sized sailfish, probably in the 50-60  lb range and it was very cool to get to see this. But I have digressed so I will get back on topic... We ended up hitting our first school (so to speak) at about 18 miles off. We hooked the bull and cow, but couldn't see any other fish to bring in along with them. So I guess you could say we landed the whole school :).

We chased some more birds around for another couple of hours to no avail until we decided to head back in. On the way out earlier that morning, I decided to put together my homemade flasher just in case we had an opportunity to jump in with a school and see if it would actually keep them around us while we would try to shoot a few. On the way back in we decided to stop and throw in the flasher just to see what it looked like. I must say, I was very happy with what I saw. If color and light reflection and refraction are what's supposed to bring in the fish, this homemade device should fit the bill. For now, it's just an assumption on my part, but it sure did look the part.

We were actually on our first spearfishing spot by 10a that morning, so we didn't spend too much time in our efforts for dolphin. The good news this weekend is that we finally found some decent snappers. At about our 3rd spot, we ran into a school of some very nice sized mangrove snappers. By about 1p, we had our limit in the cooler and were finally happy to get into the mangoes that we have been looking for over the past few weeks.

We decided to head out again on Sunday morning to see if we could get back into a couple of schools of mangroves like Saturday. By our second stop, we had a few in the cooler, but I wasn't feeling too well, so I offered to drive the boat for a while as I took a break. Something I ate on Saturday apparently didn't agree with me and I spent a good portion of the night suffering from nausea and the exertion of this morning's dives had me feeling the after effects once again. Before I got back in the water, my brother in law shot a beautiful 28 inch Red Grouper. At our second to last spot, where I was feeling like I could dive again, we ended up with a few very nice Cero Mackerel as well. It wasn't the most productive day we have had, but it did get fun with the Mackerel at the end.

We also had one last bit of excitement this weekend while we were finishing up all the dirty work of cleaning fish and picking up the site before leaving. We usually leave a rod in the water while we are cleaning fish since there are always tarpon rolling in the marina. This time we had a little luck and hooked and landed about a 25-30 pounder. I don't usually put up hook and line pictures in the pics section but these things don't happen all the time, so I thought I would. Check out the pic under this week's date here.

Old Spearblogs

Video Spotlight

Gallery Spotlight

Popular Videos

Weblink Spotlight

  • Spearboard.com

Spearviews

Spearviews

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Monday, 26 July 2010 15:11

This year at The Blue Wild I was fortunate enough to meet Mike Hickey. I know of Mike from his appearances on Speargun Hunter on the Outdoor Channel with Sheri Daye. Mike was orginally a guest on the show and in later seasons participated as an underwater videographer. Mike is the USA distributor for FreeDivers ( FreeDivers USA ) spearfishing equipment. I came across his booth and after a great conversation about spearfishing, we started discussing the rising cost of spearshafts specifically....

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Sunday, 28 March 2010 18:32

Over the weekend of March 27 th & 28 th I took the Level 1 Freediving course offered by FII (Freediving Instructors International) at their Headquarters in Pompano Beach FL. FII was started by Martin Stepanek, a multiple time freediving world record holder. The Level 1 curriculum is taught over a 2 day course. The first day is classroom and pool based and spans almost 9 hours. This course is designed for beginning freedivers and is supposed to get novice divers to a depth of 66 feet.

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Wednesday, 21 December 2011 15:51

I realized recently that I had overlooked the fact that I had purchased and used some new SpearGear at the beginning of the Summer of 2011 and hadn't gotten around to posting about it (here or in SpearGear). This article is going to be one that definitely crosses over between SpearViews and SpearGear because of the fact that I do own it but I definitely think it's worthy of a review as well. In the end, SpearViews won the coin toss deciding where I would put the article (especially after I...

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Saturday, 30 January 2010 08:18

I finally bit the bullet and decided to sell my No-Ka-Oi. It had gotten next to no use in the time I had owned it and it seemed a shame to have it just sit there so I Ebay'd it. With the funds from that sale, I invested in a gun that is a little more multi-purpose (at least that is how I convinced myself to get it :). I was extremely torn among 3 choices. I was considering the Euro 120, 120x and 130. After a couple of weeks of deliberation and a lot of flip-flopping, I decided on the Euro 120....

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:57

Believe it or not my latest addition to my spearguns is not one for shooting fish (well at least not shooting to kill them). But it hopefully will help others watch online what I love to do underwater. I have made a camera mount for my Riffe Euro guns. This mount will fit on any Euro that has the reel inserts (basically all of them). It was terribly simple to make. The only fairly tricky part was putting together the actual mount screw for the camera tripod mount itself.

SpearViews

Bob Diaz - Saturday, 30 January 2010 08:23

It didn't take me long to finish rigging up the 120 with a new reel and 2.2mm dyneema line. Unfortunately as of now (Apr 2009), I haven't had an opportunity to get into the blue water to put this new toy through its paces. I am definitely jones'ing to give it a try! I am also working on making my own flashers for use in blue water. I have been watching these being used on a few spearfishing shows and their reasoning seems sound for their success. They didn't seem too hard to make, so I decided...

Spearblogs

Spearblogs

SpearBlog 2002

Bob Diaz - Monday, 27 May 2002 14:57

Winds: Variable direction (mostly northerly) 20-30 mph Seas: 1-3 near land and structures 3-5 inside the reef Surf Temp: +/- 78 F Viz: 10-25 feet Not exactly what I call ideal conditions, but you could get in the water. The water was chilly, for South Florida, anyway. You could acclimate to the water temperature, but after a while you needed a break. Viz was variable, depending on the tide, with low tides being the worst. It wasn't the typical rainy Memorial Day weekend by any stretch. The...

SpearBlog 2014

Bob Diaz - Monday, 14 July 2014 17:00

Wind Seas Viz Temp 5-10 SSE 1-3' 25-55' 85F Many times I get asked the question, "How many fish have you lost to sharks?" and I always find it interesting how people that don't dive or spearfish frequently automatically associate what we do with sharks and attacks and how they typically believe that these are some kind of single threat. The truth is that although I have been buzzed by sharks and even surrrounded by sharks, historically, I have lost countless fish to barracuda while losses to...

SpearBlog 2007

Bob Diaz - Monday, 09 July 2007 01:27

Winds: SE 5 Seas: 1-2 ft Surf Temp: 84 F Viz: 40+ ft This weekend was absolutely incredible for diving! As we headed out Saturday morning, we were running over areas that we can never recall being as clear as they were this day. There were times when the water actually seemed to sparkle. Driving down Friday night, I noticed the horizon was dotted with the anchor lights of dozens of night fisherman. The general area and proximity led me to believe that they were all bottom fishing for mangroves...

SpearBlog 1999

Bob Diaz - Monday, 09 August 1999 14:56

Unfortunately, right after starting this conditions journal, I have experienced a small setback. I am suffering from an inner ear problem which currently prohibits me from spearfishing. I will probably be out of commission for a couple of weeks (at least). But I guess it's worth it. I'm pretty stone cold deaf in my right ear, and the ringing is enfuriating. Hopefully I will be back in the water soon.

SpearBlog 2012

Bob Diaz - Monday, 20 August 2012 23:52

Seas: 1-3' Winds: 5-15 SSE Viz: 15-20' Temp: 86F So this was supposed to be the weekend I get back to spearfishing after lobster season started last Monday. Since we had gotten bad viz reports from some friends that had spent the last week down in the keys and it's the last weekend before the kids' first day of school (meaning Sunday is a very short day), we figured time was short and we wouldn't waste it for wanting. After a quick decision to stay close in search of some hogfish, mangroves...

SpearBlog 1997

Bob Diaz - Saturday, 30 January 2010 08:38

UPDATE: An article related to my story below was published in the April 2007 issue of Florida Sportsman. I post it here for the sake of any nay-sayers or persons who may be thinking that some of my descriptions or even the existence of Big Mo may be exaggerated or even fictitious. I invite you to read my story below and then enjoy the article as well. This story is true, and while actually pertaining more closely to my brother-in-law, is one that I was in the water for and probably closer to...